European shares buoyed by upbeat China data

EDINBURGH, June 2 (Reuters) - European shares started the month positively on Monday, buoyed by strong macro data from China that helped to allay concerns surrounding economic growth in the world's biggest metals consumer.

Basic resources (Frankfurt: W8Z.F - news) stocks, including miners and other commodity companies, rose 0.9 percent, the biggest sectoral gainer in Europe, after data showed Chinese factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in five months in May.

"Chinese data was a shade better than expected; it will prove a little bit of a boost," Alastair McCaig, analyst at IG said.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 rose 0.3 percent to 1,381.31 by 0706 GMT, more than recouping a slight dip on Friday.

Germany's DAX rose 0.4 percent, or 42.67 points to 9,985.94, leaving it within touching distance of breaking the 10,000 mark for the first time ever. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Blaise Robinson)